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Best high-interest savings accounts April 2017

Swap to one of these savings accounts and earn up to 3.05% interest on your balance.

There are many features you should look out for when considering a savings account, but undoubtedly one of the most important is the variable interest rate on offer. As the interest on savings accounts is effectively free money (and who doesn’t love free money!), the better the rate the bigger your balance will be at the end of the month.

We've analysed current high-interest savings accounts in the market and highlighted the three with the highest interest rate. But before breaking up with your current account in favour of one of the below, make sure you understand the conditions first.

The best high interest savings account will help you manage your savings effectively to suit your savings and spending style. There may be more than one online savings account that is 'best' for your situation. The accounts identified below are three of the best high interest savings accounts offered in terms of interest rate, however this list is not exhaustive and there are other additional accounts that may be better suited to your personal circumstances.

ING Savings Maximiser

This high interest savings account comes with a competitive variable rate of 3.0% p.a. In order to earn this rate, you must link your account to an ING Orange Everyday account and deposit $1,000 or more into either account each month. You can easily achieve this by selecting this as the account your salary is deposited into.

Unlike many other savings accounts, you can make as many withdrawals as you like from your ING Savings Maximiser and still earn the high variable interest rate of 3.0% by simply depositing $1000 monthly. Additional perks are the ability to access any Australian ATM for free, no account keeping fees and no minimum balance requirement to open an account.

Note this interest rate is only available on balances under $100,000. Also, if you fail to deposit $1,000 monthly the standard variable interest rate of 1.60% will apply.

ME Online Savings Account

This account has one of the highest variable interest rates currently on the market at 3.05% p.a. To achieve this ultra-competitive rate is quite simple - all you need to do is link the account to a ME Everyday Transaction account and make a weekly tap & go purchase with your debit Mastercard. There is no minimum amount for this weekly purchase, so simply using tap & go to pay for your Friday morning coffee will suffice.

Other perks? Glad you asked. There are also no account keeping fees and no monthly deposit requirements for the account, although with an interest rate that high, you’d want to deposit as much money as you can! Also, if you use an ATM outside of ME’s network, it will refund you the ATM fee within 30 days.

Just remember to link your ME Online Savings account with a ME Everyday Transaction account within 14 days to earn the high interest rate. Also be aware that this interest rate is only available on balances up to $250,000, and if you don’t meet the requirements the standard variable rate of 1.30% will apply.

CUA eSaver Boost Account

Earn a high variable interest rate of 2.95% p.a with this savings account and make your money work harder for you. To achieve this attractive rate, you need to deposit $250 or more each month (much lower than the ING Savings Maximiser), however you aren’t allowed to make any withdrawals. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it forces you to save.

If you do not already have an everyday transaction account with CUA, you will need to open one at the same time as you apply for an eSaver Boost Account. The good news is there is no minimum deposit required to open an account,so you can get started straight away. There are also no monthly account keeping fees.

Be aware that if you do not meet the above requirements your balance will earn quite a low standard variable rate at 0.50% p.a, so make sure you deposit $250 monthly and don’t touch it, no matter how tempting it may be.

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